US Senate kills 'clean' standard including coal, nuclear

New York, 14 June: The US Senate rejected a proposal for a 'Clean Portfolio Standard' (CPS) that would have included nuclear and some coal technologies, but it did not vote on a renewable standard.

The drive for a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) – which would mandate a certain percentage of energy to come from renewable sources – is led by Democrat Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate committee on energy & natural resources.

On 13 June, he proposed an RPS amendment to a broad energy bill (S.1419) introduced in late May. Bingaman's RPS would require that renewables such as wind, solar and biomass provide 15% of US electricity by 2020.

On the same day, though, Pete Domenici, the ranking Republican on the committee, introduced his own amendment, backed by five other Republicans. His CPS included a 20% target, but allowed new nuclear plants and certain coal projects, such as those that capture and sequester carbon. Further, utilities already operating nuclear plants would face a lower standard.

Domenici called Bingaman's proposal "unfair and unaffordable", claiming it would cost $175 billion. "States that lack the natural resources to meet the [RPS] mandate – primarily wind energy, which many states don't have – would bear the brunt of the costs" because they would pay penalties to the federal government, he stated.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-based environmental non-profit, condemned the CPS proposal, noting: "There is no infrastructure in place for safely transporting carbon and storing it in a permanent location."

On 14 June, the Senate voted 56 to 39 to table Domenici's amendment, effectively killing it unless a majority of senators agree to bring it to another vote.

Despite derailing Domenici's amendment, Bingaman was unable by press time to gather the 60 votes needed to proceed to a vote on his RPS amendment. The fate of the RPS proposal is uncertain, but the larger energy bill could face a vote during the week of 18 June.

On 11 June, the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued a report, requested by Bingaman, estimating the RPS would increase electricity prices by an average 0.9% by 2030, compared with 2005 prices.

At the same time, the RPS would lower natural gas prices 0.1% because renewables would replace some of that fuel for power generation, reducing demand. By 2030, annual electricity sector carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 222 million metric tonnes, or 6.7%, according to EIA.